The NEC Ensemble

Programme
Charlotte Torres (1979): Dans l’ombre de Franz (2017) for violin, flute, clarinet, cello and piano
Bára Gísladóttir (1989):Tif (2015) for piano, clarinet, violin and cello
Elena Mendoza (1979):Grámatica de lo indecible (2008–09) for piano, saxophone, percussion, violin, cello, flute and clarinet
Hekmat Homsi (1994): New work (2026) for piano, saxophone, percussion, violin, cello, flute, clarinet
Brigitta Muntendorf (1982): Shivers on Speed (2011) for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano

Ensemble
Emilie Brisedou, flute
Jean François Lehmann, clarinet
Vincent Daoud, saxophone
Alexandra Jopek, violin
Esther Monnat, cello
Juliette Dournaud, piano
Antonin Jaccard, percussion
Lars Mlekusch, conductor

Between silence and sound – a musical journey towards that which language cannot name
This programme is inspired by Ludwig Wittgenstein’s reflection on the unspeakable – that which is mysterious and elusive, yet forms the very foundation upon which the speakable acquires meaning. The composer Elena Mendoza regards this concept as central to her artistic work: confronting what cannot be put into words, finding order and form without restricting freedom of expression, and communicating through music, even when language fails.

On this basis, a richly contrasting musical journey unfolds, in which each work makes the unspeakable tangible through tension, meditation, silence or energy. The audience first encounters the satirical tension of Dans l’ombre de Franz by Charlotte Torres, followed by the meditative soundscape of Tif by Bára Gísladóttir. The work by Elena Mendoza, which gives the project its title, organises chaos and silence to make audible that which eludes language, whilst Hekmat Homsi’s piece opens up new perspectives on sound worlds that have already been explored. Finally, emptiness, reduction and abstraction give way to the speed and intensity of Shivers on Speed by Brigitta Muntendorf.

The programme does not aim to provide definitive answers, but rather invites reflection and offers an encounter with the incomprehensible, the irrational and the intangible – elements that every artistic practice seeks to make perceptible through form and experience.